Print Spooler Keeps Stopping? Here Are Available Methods!

It is very frustrating to meet the situation that Windows 10 Print Spooler keeps stopping when you try to print your documents. Then how to get rid of the problem? There are 6 methods offered for you.

Method 1: Restart the Print Spooler Service

When the Print Spooler keeps stopping, restarting the Print Spooler service may help you fix the problem. Here is a quick guide:

Step 1: Press the Win + R keys at the same time to open the Run box.

Step 2: Type services.msc in the box and then click OK to open Services.

Step 3: Find the Print Spooler service on the list, right-click it to choose Restart.

Step 4: Restart your computer to check if the Print Spooler still keeps stopping.

Method 2: Check If the Print Spooler Service Is Set to Automatic

You may see that the Print Spooler keeps stopping because the Print Spooler service isn’t set to Automatic. Therefore, you need to check if the Print Spooler service is set to Automatic.

Step 1: Open Services, find the Print Spooler service on the list, right-click it to choose Properties.

Step 2: Under the General tab, change the Startup type to Automatic and click Start.

Step 3: Click OK to confirm changes.

Step 4: Restart your system to check if the Print Spooler keeps stopping.

Method 3: Change the Print Spooler Recovery Options

You can also solve the problem by changing the Print Spooler Recovery options. Here is a quick guide:

Step 1: Open Services, find the Print Spooler service on the list, right-click it to choose Properties.

Step 2: Go to the Recovery tab, make sure that First failure, Second failure, and Subsequent failure are set to Restart the Service and click Apply and OK to confirm changes.

Step 3: Reboot your PC to see if the “Print Spooler keeps stopping Windows 10” issue is fixed.

Method 4: Delete the Print Spooler Files

If there are a lot of pending print jobs, then your Print Spooler will keep stopping. Thus, you are supposed to delete the Print Spooler files to solve the problem. Here is the tutorial:

Step 1: Open Services again, right-click the Print Spooler to choose Stop, and then minimize the Services window.

Step 2: Press the Win + E keys at the same time to open Windows File Explorer.

Step 3: Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS, and if you are prompted about permission, click Continue.

Step 4: Delete all the files in the PRINTERS folder, and then you should see a message saying that This folder is empty.

Step 5: Type control panel in the Search bar and then click the best match one. Set View by: Catalog, and then click View devices and printers.

Step 6: Right-click your printer to choose Remove device. Then maximum the Services window, right-click the Print Spooler service to choose Start.

Step 7: Go back to the Devices and Printers window and then right-click on empty area to choose Add devices and printers.

Step 8: Follow the instructions that show on the screen to re-add your printer and then restart your computer to check if the problem is gone.

Method 5: Update Your Printer Driver

You may meet the “Print Spooler keeps stopping” error when your printer driver is outdated. Therefore, in order to solve the problem, you should update the printer driver.

Step 1: Press the Win + X keys at the same time to choose Device Manager.

Step 2: Expand Print queues and then right-click the printer you want to use to choose Update driver.

Step 3: Choose Search automatically for updated driver software and then follow on-screen instructions to complete updating the printer driver.

Step 4: Restart your computer to check if the Print Spooler keeps stopping.

Method 6: Edit the Registry Editor

You can also try to edit the Registry Editor to get rid of the problem. But you’d better back up your Registry keys in advance in case that something goes wrong. Follow the instructions to do that:

Step 1: Open the Run box, type regedit in the box and then click OK to open Registry Editor.

Step 2: Navigate to the following path:

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Providers

Step 3: Delete all the sub-keys under the Providers except LanMan Print Services and Internet Print Provider. Just right-click the sub-key to choose Delete.

Step 4: Close Registry Editor and then restart your computer to check if the issue is fixed.

Bottom Line

To sum up, when you encounter the problem that the Print Spooler keeps stopping, then you can try the methods mentioned in this post to deal with it.